March 27, 2009

To create fabulously delicious raw sauces, dressings, and marinades use the following guidelines.

There are five basic flavor categories that each sauce, dressing or marinade should incorporate. In addition to the five basic favors, you'll also need to include a fat ingredient... for a total of six components. Here are some example ingredients for each flavor component.

This rule applies to all cuisines because flavor profiles are universal. Each flavor is influenced by the others, and they're all enhanced by the presence of a fat ingredient. Fats balance the flavors while providing depth and richness! Fats can also help tone down sour and spicy ingredients.

Aim to achieve a balanced infusion of all five flavors, rather than emphasizing any one particular flavor. Keep in mind that raw ingredients like garlic and onion, fresh herbs, and hot peppers are much stronger when their flavors haven't been cooked down. So a little goes a long way!

Here’s a tasty teriyaki marinade recipe great for any Asian veggie dish!

In a small bowl add soy sauce and orange juice, and slowly stir in the honey until smooth. Mix in the remaining ingredients and whisk. Pour the sauce over a large bowl of your favorite veggies and set aside to marinade for 1-2 hours before serving!

March 19, 2009

My earliest memories of emotional eating go as far back as elementary school. By my teens it had escalated to something that was very difficult for me to control.

Food became the only thing that could calm my emotional anxiety and fill an emotional void. I felt as though food controlled me, it tempted and manipulated me. I literally woke up every single morning panicked with worry, wondering how the day would unfold. Would today be any different? Would I actually start that diet, or would I give into the pain and eat my way back to the comfort of emotional numbness?

I felt that my struggle with emotional eating was at the center of everything that was wrong in my life. If only I could release myself from the grip food had on me... I would no longer feel tormented by food, I would slim down and feel comfortable in my own skin, I would finally attract the man of my dreams and feel more confident to pursue the life I had always envisioned! I blamed my compulsive relationship with food for not having achieved any of these things.

I remember so many days when I just wanted to give in and give up. What if I could just move away where no one knew who I was? I could hide out and eat anything I wanted, whenever I wanted, as much as I wanted. Sure that would mean settling, but I'd be set free from my internal food conflict. Or so I told myself.

It was only when I started to understand the role my thoughts played in creating my life that it finally dawned on me, my negative associations (in terms of what food meant to me) had to change. Food represented something destructive in my life, and I needed to change that relationship. I had to associate food with something positive and healing. It was for this very reason that I was drawn to the concept behind raw foods. I love knowing that the foods I eat today nourish me and bring nature’s purity and healing to my body.

The one thing that has really helped me on my journey to overcoming emotional eating is to define for myself exactly how I wanted my ideal diet and lifestyle to look like. Drawing from the knowledge of the many health books I’ve read over the years, coupled with my own intuitive knowledge, I created some guidelines for myself that I felt were appropriate and realistic for me.

It feels wonderful having a custom lifestyle plan just for me! In fact, it gives me that much more incentive to stick with the lifestyle, because I know it’s mine and a lot of thought went into it.

I can truly say that by connecting back to a natural way of eating, food has taken on a whole new meaning for me. It is no longer something I desperately need to calm fear and anxiety, but rather something that brings healing and nourishment to my body.

But I also keep in mind that it’s an ongoing journey. I try to stay flexible as I continue to evolve and fine tune my diet and lifestyle. I have learned to let things go and not give myself a hard time when I'm not on my best behavior. I truly give myself love and understanding every step of the way (especially during an emotional relapse).

In overcoming emotional eating, I believe it begins with learning to love ourselves. Issues around eating, whether it's expressed through binging or starving, is a form of self punishment and self sabotage. As I continue to love and accept myself, I find that I have far less self-destructive tendencies. Plus, the cleaner I eat the more clarity I have about the choices I make, and thus it gets easier!

So breathe, and surrender yourself to the truth and wisdom of nature! In admiration of nature's beauty you will find a simple universal truth, that only the perfection and magnificence of nature can bring perfection and magnificence into our lives.

March 11, 2009

As some of you may already know, I am working on a project to bring together some of the world’s top raw food chefs to be featured in a compilation recipe cookbook called Flavors of World Cuisine in the Raw: An Exquisite Breakthrough in Culinary Tradition.I just got back earlier this afternoon from a lovely meeting with herbalist, author, and raw chef Brigitte Mars. With such extensive background as an author, who better else if not Brigitte to offer some words of wisdom on publishing a book? Author of Rawsome! and Beauty by Nature, she has established herself as one of the prominent voices in the raw food lifestyle movement.

We sat and chatted in her cozy office over some of her soothing homemade nettle tea. I shared with Brigitte some of my ideas and details about my progress on the book. She kindly offered her encouraging thoughts, along with a wealth of information and advice. What a pleasure to have Brigitte’s genuine interest in my vision of this book.

We are fortunate to have Brigitte locally here in our Boulder, Colorado community. What a pleasantly spent afternoon! Thank you Brigitte for your kind encouragement and support.

March 4, 2009

Pomegranate juice has the highest antioxidant content, activity and protective benefits of eight different beverages tested, according to a study conducted by researchers from Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California-Los Angeles' David Geffen School of Medicine, and published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

"Oftentimes, a beverage will make a claim about its superior antioxidant content based on the results of one test alone that provides the highest antioxidant capacity," said lead researcher Dr. David Heber. "What is important about this study is that all the beverages included were run against several tests resulting in a more complete assessment of a beverage's antioxidant activity and capability."

Pomegranate juice was found to have the highest polyphenol content of any beverage, even outcompeting recent "superfoods" such as acai berry or green and white tea.

Polyphenols are a naturally occurring family of plant chemicals that are known to function as antioxidants in the body. They are believed to help reduce the risks of cancer and cardiovascular disease and the effects of aging.

In addition to polyphenol content, the researchers also tested how well the various beverages performed at scavenging free radicals and preventing oxidation (decay) of LDL ("good") cholesterol. Once again, pomegranate juice outperformed all competitors, with an antioxidant potency composite index 20 percent higher than any other beverage tested.

This study marks the 11th study in the last 10 years to demonstrate the health benefits of 100 percent pomegranate juice. Prior studies have linked the juice to reducing the risks of heart disease, prostate cancer and even erectile dysfunction. Article by: David Gutierrez (NaturalNews.com)

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Eating a nutrient rich diet of whole natural foods is the only way to ensure lasting radiant health. When you nourish the body with a vibrant living cuisine, as nature intended, you become an expression of radiant health. Raw cuisine is in fact nature's secret to youthful longevity.

Disclaimer: The nutritional content provided on this site is not intended to substitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It is strongly recommended consulting a health care professional if you are looking to change your diet and lifestyle.